Google says Chinese manufacturer created botnet on 1.3 million devices — The Verge

Google said that Shenzhen-based Chinese device manufacturer Videostrong Technology Co. embedded a hidden backdoor in 1.3 million Android-based devices and turned them into a botnet. According to the company, it removed the backdoor and ended its cooperation with the manufacturer. Google also barred Videostrong from creating or selling certified Android devices and from supplying software for them.

Devices were used without their owners’ knowledge

As The Verge reports, the infected devices were used for malicious activity without their owners’ knowledge. Google listed advertising fraud, data theft, and the transmission of unauthorized network traffic among such activities.

Google said the backdoor and botnet were deliberately developed, deployed, and used for financial gain. The company also stated that Videostrong sold access to the backdoor to criminal partners, who downloaded additional malicious modules onto infected devices. According to Google, these modules engaged in advertising fraud, covertly enrolled devices in residential proxy networks, and installed other malware.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Android TV boxes and IoT devices

Most of the affected devices were Android TV boxes. The malware was also found in other Android Internet of Things devices, including telemedicine equipment, karaoke machines, and digital signage devices.

Google claims that the malicious component had been embedded directly into many device models and brands for several years. According to the company, Videostrong used obfuscation techniques to download malicious code after the device’s first launch. Google also reported blocking the command-and-control domains of additional modules and estimated that this could cut off access to at least 10 million other compromised devices.